A late Christmas Carol
by Secret Spy Guy
Summary: It's that time of the year again, and it looks like Vlad needs a daily dose of Dickens before he finally succeeds in defeating Daniel. Chapter one: The Ghostwriter


**Spy Guy: Title says all. Enjoy. **

* * *

Plotting. 

Constant plotting. 

It consumed him, far past the point of simple obsession. It was a ghost's obsession, and he could feel it eating away at his sanity. 

Outside, snow fell lazily through the air, landing on the large glass windows of Vlad Master's AmityPark mansion. He sat in his study, glaring out at the cloudy day, his mind mulling over thousands of ways to gain what he desired. He knew what he wanted for Christmas. He wanted Maddie and Daniel. He wanted to feel the warmth from Maddie's body as they lay beside him in the cold December night. He wanted to see Daniel's smiling face as he walked into the room Christmas morning holding one of the marvelous presents he had received. He wanted the boy to call him father with all the affection he could muster. 

Maybe it was because he lacked all of this that he was scornful of the holidays. While Jack was at home celebrating with his family, Vlad would be stuck in his mansion, doing paperwork, and petting his cat like the lonely old man he had become. 

"Bah hum-bug." The man murmured bitterly, ashamed of himself. 

He was just a living scrooge, hiding in all of his money…no better than a pathetic miser.

The man got to his feet, sighing deeply. 

"It's Christmas eve, Maddie." He spoke to his small white cat. The creature meowed happily, her mind thinking only of food. Sometimes, in walking this same route, Vlad would double back, sit in the chair, get back up, go down the stairs, open the door, head into the kitchen and feed her. In her small mind, that chance seemed more certain than anything, so she trotted behind her master, purring loudly.

But Vlad had no intentions of feeding the poor cat. He returned to his chair, gripping the armrests tightly. 

He could feel the dark thoughts bumping around in his mind. He knew he desperately needed to cling to one. Only then could he bring it to fruition, and make his desired future a reality.

Too bad Santa Claus couldn't bring it to him. 

A few hours later, the old man took to the streets, his hands shoved deep into his pockets, a dark scowl on his face. Around him, people shopped, talking loudly to one another, sometimes getting into small squabbles over sale items. 

Vlad growled beneath his breath, spitting out the reviled word once more. 

"Bah-humbug…" He snapped. 

"Bah-humbug to you too." A voice whispered beside him. The man turned, locking eyes with the pitiful form of Daniel, sitting on a bench by the sidewalk, holding his thin coat around him, and drinking coffee from a Styrofoam cup. Vlad paused, noting that the child seemed frailer than before…his cheeks were sunken in, his eyes hollow, his skin pale. The man watched as Daniel went to take another sip of his drink, trying hard to keep his hands from shaking.

But Vlad saw only perfection in the boy. He imagined the slight, yet strong muscles hidden beneath Daniel's coat, and the power that could burst from his fingertips on a whim. The boy was an ideal heir to his fortune…if only his thinking could be swayed. 

"Shouldn't you be at home, where it's warm?" Vlad asked, sitting on the bench's opposite side. He saw Daniel inch away from him. 

"Shouldn't you?" He snapped back weakly, taking yet another sip. 

"I don't have anyone to go back to." The old man replied, keeping his voice calm and cool. "It's lonesome in my mansion. If only I could have had children. Ones who share my affliction, and harbor all of my youthful looks. Where might I find one such as that?"

Vlad grinned broadly, greatly expecting a reaction from the boy.

He was greatly disappointed. 

"It's Christmas eve." Daniel whispered softly. "The ghosts have a pact to be gentle today and tomorrow. It applies to us too. So go away." 

Vlad stared incredulously at the boy, judging his features once more. 

He wasn't just shaking from cold…he seemed to be trembling all over. His eyes were dulled, and the man swore he saw green streaking the normally vibrant blue. Upon closer inspection, Daniel's hair was peppered with strands of white. 

Something was wrong. 

"Are you alright, Daniel?" Vlad asked. 

"I'm fine." The boy snapped harshly, angrily taking another sip of coffee. 

"You look sick. Maybe I should take you home." 

"Get a life, old man." The boy spat, "Find something better to do, besides stalking me." 

"There's something wrong with you, boy." Vlad hissed. "I'm only thinking of your best interests. If you don't tell me, I'll call your parents." 

"Go ahead." The boy replied softly. "They won't find me. They've already passed by here looking for me two times."

A look of surprise crossed the man's face. 

"Why are you hiding, Little Badger?" He demanded. "You're sick aren't you?" 

Daniel glared at him. 

"Like you really care." He growled. "You just care about my powers."

Then he pushed himself unsteadily to his feet, one hand on the bench for support. 

"Go back to your money, Fruitloop. Isn't that enough for you?" 

His hollow eyes scrunched in pain for a moment, before he began walking along the street, his steps slow, and unsure. Vlad sat, watching him, his emotions piling up on each other.

How could he make Daniel trust him? When would his fantasies become a reality? In his weakened state, the boy would be easy to overcome…but…

Vlad growled, getting up, and brushing dirt from his clothes.

It would have to wait until after Christmas. Now was a time of peace. To break the pact would cause great conflicts between him and the Observants…and that would get in the way of his plan. The boy would still be sick in two days, maybe even more so. He would strike then, take him away, and find a cure. Then Daniel would be dependant on him…if the cure needed to be taken continuously. 

The man found a small sneer gracing his lips. 

Perhaps he was closer to his goal than ever before. Only two days. He could survive. Daniel was within his grasp.

* * *

Now, with a new spring his step and a plan formulating in his mind, Vlad journeyed home, holding a soft catnip mouse in a box. He knew that, this year at least, the real Maddie was still unobtainable to him, so he would have to dote on the feline one instead. She would surely love her new gift.

* * *

Vlad entered his mansion, calling out for the small white cat. Maddie trilled softly, jumping off the back of a plush recliner, rubbing against the dark pants of her master's suit. 

"Maybe I should have gotten a black cat." The man mused to himself, as he opened the toy box, trying to ignore the atrocious amounts of cat hair being shed on his clothes. 

"Maddie, I have a gift for you, dear." 

He said it in an over-affectionate voice, oozing with love. The cat meowed, her blue eyes locking onto the fuzzy mouse Vlad was dangling by its tail. The man dropped the box, and threw the toy to the ground. Maddie sprinted after it, batting it with her paws. 

Vlad smiled. 

It didn't take Maddie cat long to tire of her new toy. After only a few minutes, she became interested in the mouse's box that Vlad had tossed aside. 

The man sat in his recliner, watching as the cat played with the box for hours on end, sticking her head inside, and poking it with her claws.

Vlad compared the spectacle to his life. 

He was the mouse, long forgotten on the wooden floor. Maddie was Maddie, of course, and the box was Jack. Jack won Maddie again, even in box form. 

It was depressing. 

Suddenly the man noticed a little packet in the box. 

He got up, and took it in his hands, examining it. 

It was a bag of catnip powder. 

"This must be Daniel." The man whispered aloud, shaking the package. Maddie's eyes followed it. 

"Maddie likes Jack because Jack is where her children are." The man continued. "But if we take Daniel away." The man walked over to the toy mouse, and set the bag on top. Maddie followed him, sniffing the toy experimentally. Vlad grinned as the cat began playing with it again. 

"If I were to have Daniel, Maddie would come to me." 

Now everything made sense. 

In two days, he would spirit Daniel away, and cure him in his secluded cabin. He would then slowly get closer and closer to the boy, earning his trust until the child had completely crumpled beneath his will. Then Maddie would come, and see how better off Daniel was with him, how certain his future would be, and then stay with him forever. 

It was perfect… 

Ignoring the fact that Maddie the cat had just torn Daniel the catnip package open, and was eating his insides. Hopefully that wouldn't happen. That would be very disturbing. 

Vlad yawned, looking out at the window, seeing the nighttime sky covering the land. 

"I should probably get something to eat." He said to himself, getting to his feet. There was barely anything left of Daniel the catnip bag anymore. His ripped and torn body lay between Maddie's paws as she continued to lick him. 

Hopefully things wouldn't turn out like that. 

_"Is that all you see him as?"_ A mocking voice asked.

_"Simply a toy from a catnip mouse? _

_You should soon face the facts my friend, _

_You're as pathetic as a blood-sucking louse_."

Vlad gasped as a figure appeared before him, wearing a long ragged purple coat. His gray boots hovered above the ground as he stepped toward the man, bending down to pick up Maddie's new toy. 

_"So this is you, judging by what I see, _

_And you have created a plan, _

_That's as plain as can be. _

_But be warned my dear fellow, _

_For nothing of good, _

_Shall come from stealing what you never should." _

"What the hell are you talking about?" Vlad demanded, stumbling backwards. "I didn't give you permission to come in here! This is a time of peace! You'll be arrested." 

The ghost sighed, his lips curling into a sneer, revealing pointed fangs. 

_"Been there, done that, my dear little friend. _

_Last year was a lesson, I'll never forget. _

_But this time I have clearance, _

_A reason to come. _

_I've been sent here to stop you, before you've begun." _

The ghost took a large coupon from his coat pocket, and waved it in Vlad's face. The man took it, staring at it intently. 

"'Good for one Christmas haunt?'" The Vlad murmured, looking up. "What is this?"

_"From the Observants themselves."_ The ghost replied, snatching the coupon back. 

_"They gave it to me, _

_So I, the Ghostwriter, could help you to see." _

"The rhyming's annoying." Vlad grumbled. "But I've heard of you. Why are you here? I haven't done anything to you." 

"Let's cut to the chase, Vladdie boy." The ghost continued, floating closer. "Last year, I tried to teach that brat you're looking for a lesson. It got me thrown in Walker's Jail, a nasty place. The Observants recently became aware of a…terrible future for the child, so they sent me here to do some good old-fashioned Dickens magic on your little half dead heart." 

Vlad growled as the ghost whisked past him, slumping into the man's recliner. 

"You really _are_ a fruitloop, aren't you, Vladimir?" The Ghostwriter mocked. "Making plans based off what your cat plays with. But if those plans are true, Mr. Masters, you're a foolish mouse, too afraid to do much of anything. Quite frankly, I think that woman would eat you alive for taking away her son. Think of this logically."

"I don't need you to preach to me." Vlad snapped. "Daniel will see thing my way in time. He just needs—"

"And this is why I'm here." The ghost continued, getting to his feet. "Mr. Masters, you will be visited by three spirits." He held up three fingers, smiling cruelly. "I think you know what's going to happen, right? I seriously hope you would." 

"I still think you're talking nonsense." The man's eyes flared red, but the Ghostwriter held up his coupon. 

"Immunity." He smiled. "The pact still counts for you, so if you do anything, Walker's going to cart you off to his jail the second he hears about it."

"So I can't do anything about this?" The man snapped. 

"Nope." Ghostwriter replied. "Sit back and watch the show, Vladdie boy. Next time the clock strikes, a spirit will come to you, and hopefully teach you a lesson. You sure need it. And I need to be put on parole."

* * *


End file.
